Who is Eligible for Student Employment?

Student employment is available to all undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in classes at SUNY College at Plattsburgh. To be considered full time, undergraduates must be enrolled in 12 credits and graduates must be enrolled in 9 credits. A part time student may work one semester based on the following exceptions: an approved medical reason; or their last semster before graduation. For employment during summer or winter break, a student must be registered for summer or winter classes or registered full time for the next semester.

Rates of Pay

Work Schedules/ Breaks

Students can work a maximum of 20 hours per week when classes are in session and 29 hours per week during the winter break and summer vacation.This would not allow a student to work 29 hours for the week of Thanksgiving and Spring break. Maximum hours are based on the work week of Thursday through Wednesday.

Students may work multiple jobs but a maximum of 20 hours per week includes all jobs and Work Study when school is in session, and 29 hours per week during winter break.

Rest/coffee breaks should be established for the student employees in the same manner as granted to other employees within your department.

Benefits

Student employees are in the non-competitive class of Civil Service and are not assigned a bargaining unit. No fringe benefits are accorded to individuals in these positions. Work status is temporary and no long-term commitments are possible. Student employees are paid at an hourly rate only for hours actually worked.

New York State Employees' Retirement System

Student employees are eligible to enroll in the New York State Employees' Retirement System. Enrollment requires a 3% salary contribution to the Retirement System. The equivalent of ten years of full-time service is needed to become eligible for pension benefits. Students may sign a declination of election contact with the Payroll Office to complete enrollment forms.

Social Security & Medicare Withholdings

Student employees are typically exempt from Social Security and Medicare withholdings as long as they are enrolled in classes at the university of employment. During the summer, FICA and Medicare are withheld from student checks unless they are enrolled in summer classes at this university. Students with F-1 visas are exempt at all times.

Forms Required for Appointment to the Payroll

All newly hired students must complete the following forms:

Student Appointment Form

Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification

W-4 Form

IT2104 or IT2104E

These forms must be fully completed before work begins. Do not allow a student to begin work until these forms are completed . Appointments to the Payroll System are processed on the biweekly cycle with a strict deadline schedule imposed by the Office of the State Comptroller. Any forms not received by the appropriate deadline will be reported in the next payroll cycle, which will result in a delay in the first paycheck.

Student Employment Form

Student Appointment Forms are available in the Payroll Office, Kehoe 904. The forms contain the basic appointment information (appointment dates, pay rate, account number to be charged, as well as information relating to the student employee). Form must be completed in full. If the form needs to be returned for completion this could result in delay in the payment to the student.

Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification

This form is required by federal law to show eligibility to work in the United States. To complete the I-9 Form, students must present the original documents (photocopies are not acceptable). One document from List A, or a combination of one document from List B and one from List C is required. This form must be completed at the Payroll Office.

Form W-4 Federal and IT2104 or IT2104E NY State Tax/ NY City Tax

Student wages are subject to federal withholdings. All student employees must complete a W-4. The forms should be read carefully since the tax status claimed by the student is determined by Internal Revenue Service regulations.

Students who previously filed exempt status may no longer be eligible to do so. You cannot be exempt from withholdings if (1) your income is in excess of $ 800 and includes more than $250 of unearned income. (i.e. interest and dividends), and (2) another person can claim you as a dependent on their tax return. Students claiming exempt will be required to file a new W-4 form at the beginning of each calendar year.

If you are not claiming exempt, you must enter a number on line 5. For example, Zero (0) dependents- maximum taxes will be deducted; One (1) dependent - less taxes will be deducted. The worksheet on the W-4 form should help determine the correct number of allowances.

IT2104/IT2104E

Student wages are subject to state withholdings. All student employees must complete an IT2104 or IT2104E (exempt from tax). City tax is mandatory for residence in the five counties designed to be within the City of New York based on allowances indicated on line 2 of IT2104.

Time Sheets

Student employees are paid at an hourly rate only for actual hours worked and reported on a biweekly Student Assistantship Timesheet. Hours must be indicated in one-quarter increments (i.e. 2:15 pm - 4:45 pm, not 2:17 pm - 4:43 pm). Students and supervisors should review each timesheet for accuracy and completeness before forwarding to Payroll for processing. Signatures of both the student and the supervisor are required on each timesheet. If the student did not sign the timesheet by the timesheet deadline, the supervisor should certify the timesheet and deliver to Payroll without the student's signature. The check will not be released to the student until he/she appears in person at the Payroll Office to sign the timesheet.

Timesheet must be completed in blue or black ink. Timesheets completed in pencil will be processed but the students will be required to come to the Payroll Office to complete the timesheet in ink before the check is released.

Payroll staff verifies the computation listed on each timesheet, but it is the responsibility of the student and supervisor to insure the information provided is accurate.

Student and supervisors should make sure timesheets are submitted to the Payroll Office by the deadlines. Timesheets received after established deadline will be processed with the next payroll cycle. The Office of the State Comptroller sets the strict deadlines. They are not campus deadlines that can be changed "for special exceptions."

If a timesheet is not submitted by the appropriate deadline, do not hold the timesheet until the next payroll deadline. Please deliver the timesheet to the Payroll Office as soon as it is located. Although it cannot be processed until the next payroll cycle, it will help the Payroll Office to answer any question as to why a check was not issued for that student on a particular pay date.

Paychecks

Paychecks are issued on a biweekly cycle, on Thursday and are available at the Campus Express located in the Angel College Center, Monday through Friday. Hours are posted at the Campus Express. Checks not picked up within two weeks are returned to the Payroll Office and an e-mail will be sent notifying the student. Students should notify the Payroll Office to request the mailing of any checks. When a holiday falls on the scheduled Thursday payday, checks are issued on Wednesday at the Campus Express.

The Payroll Office will provide all students with a form to complete and return for special handling of checks issued after winter break and/or summer vacation begins. Because the NYS payroll payments are on a lag basis, the final hours worked are paid after leaving campus.

Students can now sign up for direct deposit. The form can be downloaded. If the funds are going to a savings account the form must to be signed off by the institute. If there is more than one name on the account both people must sign the form. If the funds will be going to a checking account attach a voided check to the form.

W-2 Forms

W-2 forms report the student's earnings for the calendar year, and are necessary for filing federal and state returns. W-2 forms are printed by the Office of the State Comptroller and mailed to the address printed on the biweekly checks. Duplicate forms can be printed if the original is lost or destroyed. Contact the Payroll Office, Kehoe 904 or x3113.